Friday, January 26, 2007

Footballers Make Headlines

And sometimes they aren't good.

Today Slate.com reported that the US Government has tapes implicating New Orleans Saints running back and former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush in a scandal that could cost him the Heisman and USC the 2004 and 2005 National Championships. Yahoo! Sports has been reporting on the illegal gifts and contact with agents since last year.

Seth's take on the whole Michael Vick "was it or wasn't it pot in the bottle" scandal is funny. Falcon's record 4-20? Hilarious!!!

On a smaller scale, I reported the following story on D3football.com today:

Guilford players charged with assault

Local and national media reports indicate that a total of five Guilford College football players have been charged with ethnic intimidation and assault relating to a fight at the school. In the altercation early on the morning of Jan. 20, Jonathan Underwood, 20, Jazz Favors, Michael Bates, 19, Mike Six, 20, and Chris Barnette, 21 are alleged to have beaten and kicked two Palestinian students and one of their friends. The alleged victims stated in court documents that they were called 'terrorists' and taunted with racial slurs.

The Greensboro, N.C., Police Department issued a statement today stating that the case has been referred to the Greensboro Metropolitan Criminal Investigation Division and has been assigned to a detective. The charges weren't requested by Greensboro police but instead stem from statements the victims made to a magistrate, who issued the warrants.

Officials at the Guilford County magistrate's office have declined to discuss details of the case with the media.

On Thursday, Guilford officials said they charged five students with violating the school's code of conduct in connection with the assault. Aaron Fetrow, the college's dean for campus life, said he could not identify those students because of federal privacy laws. Seth Cohen, a lawyer representing the three alleged victims, confirmed to the Greensboro News-Record that the two who attend Guilford have been charged by the school.

The brawl, which court documents report up to 15 football players were involved in, has led to an on-campus student walkout, a vigil and a forum on the campus of Guilford, a Quaker school in western Greensboro. A statement today by Brendan Keene, president of the Guilford alumni association called the incident "isolated" and noted that "At least some of the participants were under the influence of alcohol."

Guilford football coach Kevin Kiesel declined to discuss details of the case with the media but asked that students and faculty not make any premature judgments.

Barnette, a senior wide receiver, is a D3football.com 2006 First Team All-American. He was also the offensive player of the year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Mike Six is a starter on the defensive line and led the team in tackles for loss, while Bates and Favors are reserves and saw limited action.

Bush is a greedy jerk whose actions might cost his teammates their championships. Vick may be explaining why he simply can't read a defense.

The five Guilford players are, in my opinion, the worst of the lot and simply not worthy of wearing a uniform. Except perhaps a prison uniform.